Inattention in Anxious and ADHD Youth

Inattention is among the most commonly referred problems for school-aged youth (APA, 2000; Reddy & Hale, 2007). Research suggests distinct mechanisms may contribute to attention problems in youth anxiety (e.g., specific, emotion-based attentional biases; Puliafico & Kendall, 2006) versus ADHD (e.g., general deficits in selective/sustained attention; Barkley, 1997). This book summarizes the first investigation comparing anxious and inattentive-impulsive youth on neurocognitive tests of both general and emotion-based attention processes. Findings suggest the neuropsychological differentiation of attention problems in anxious (i.e., threat-related attentional bias) versus ADHD children (i.e., selective/sustained attention) despite potentially similar phenotypes, and offer some important implications for research and practice.

Autorentext

Dr. Weissman is Director of the Child/Adolescent Treatment Center in NYC. He is a leading clinical child psychologist, supervisor, trainer and consultant and an accomplished author and clinical researcher. Dr. Weissman completed his training at Penn, Rutgers, NYU, and Harvard, and holds adjunct faculty appointments at Columbia and Yeshiva Universities.